Arrels is a private foundation dedicated to helping homeless people in the city of Barcelona.
Arrels, which means “roots” in Catalan, was born in 1987 with the main goal to facilitate the holistic development of people who have been socially excluded, and more specifically of those in critical stages of homelessness. Throughout all of the Foundation’s existence we have come in contact with over 6,000 people.
Our staff is currently composed of 53 professionals, 382 volunteers and 3,860 members and contributors who make the intervention programmes that we run all possible. In 2009 alone, we attended to a total of 1,585 people and provided permanent accommodation to 211 individuals. We offer a “Centre Obert” (Walk-in Centre) in Barcelona’s Raval neighbourhood, 16 supervised flats, and 33 permanent places in the Pere Barnés Home which we inaugurated on 29th November 2007.
Our mission
• To support homeless people in chronic stages of exclusion by allowing them to develop as much independence as possible; • To raise awareness among the general public on poverty issues that affect our society; • To denounce unfair situations and propose solutions to tackle poverty and homelessness to government officials and civil society.
Our vision
We wish to elaborate a detailed working model based on our knowledge and experience in providing personalized treatment and working in close proximity to homeless people, that will become:
• a reference model for working with the homeless; • an instrument for social change through the commitment of individuals and communities.
Our Values
• Volunteer work, free-of-charge services, generosity, availability and teamwork; • Personalized approach, work that is adapted according to the individual’s needs, demands and capabilities; •Respect of the person, of his or her way of life, life story, pace, personal process, and decisions; • Being with is more important than "to doing things".
Ultimately, we aim to:
• DIGNIFY the lives of homeless people, from recognizing their personal autonomy to them recovering their rights and responsibilities;
• restore AUTONOMY, understood as the capacity of a person to choose and make decisions as independently as possible, without conditions or dependencies from third parties.
Legal status:
Arrels holds the status of Private Charitable Foundation Providing Special Care since May 8, 1998.
Financial resources
Our work is mostly made possible thanks to private donations (53%) and government support (34%), but we also wish to highlight the fact that 8% of our income comes directly from our clients themselves who, in a step in becoming responsible for their own personal improvement, pay part of their accommodation fees. 49% of the Foundation’s expenses goes to permanent housing.
The first time I read this sentence, I realised I had found a way to define Arrels’ task. With these words, Henri Bergson, a French philosopher and writer, had found the balance between action and thought. And precisely on the basis of this equilibrium we pursue a two-fold objective: to assist homeless people in all their human complexity, and to raise people’s awareness of existing poverty in our own environment. To attain this two-fold objective, Arrels relies on a team 53 on-staff professionals and 382 volunteers organised as follows:
Arrels currently relies on 382 volunteers participating in the following areas of work:
Walk-In Centre
Residences
Management
Flats
Street Team
Computing
Hospital Team
Maintenance
Des dels seus inicis l'any 1987 i posteriorment en la reformulació de l'entitat l'any 1998, es va optar per la forma jurídica de Fundació a fi de mantenir les persones en situació d'exclusió com a principals beneficiàries de la missió d'Arrels. Algunes de les funcions més significatives del nostre Patronat són, entre d'altres, vetllar pel compliment de l'Ideari, decidir les línies estratègiques de l'entitat a llarg termini, fixar els pricipis de funcionament d'Arrels en els seus diferents àmbits d'actuació i marcar els criteris de denúcia social que hem de fer com a entitat.
Membres del Patronat
President_Francec Vilurbina
Director mèdic de Sant Joan de Déu Serveis de Salut Mental. Fundador de la ONG GASSIP.
Vicepresidenta_Carme Zapata
Mestra i Educadora Social. Responsable de la formació d’adultos de la Fundació ESCÓ. Forma part de la Comissió Permanent de la ONG FISC.
Vocal_ Montserrat Girbau
Periodista, responsable de premsa de la Província Tarraconense de la Companyia de Jesús.
Secretari_Josep Miralles
Doctor en Sociologia i Llicenciat en Filosofia i Lletres. Catedràtic del departament de Ciències Socials d’ESADE. Vicepresident de la associació Ètica, Economia i Direcció – Associació Espanyola d’Ètica de la Economia i de les Organitzacions – (EBEN Espanya). President de la Fundació Migra Studium
Tresorer_ Josep Mª Feliu
Advocat
Vocal_ Joaquim Pons Director de la fundació Migra Studium
Our collaborators
Company Collaborators: Caixa Penedès Obra Social Caixa Tarragona Caja Madrid Caja Navarra La Caixa Unnim Obra Social iniciatives aubaga,s.l. inversol, s.a. km3 la milicia, s.l. las arcadias levi strauss de españa, s.a. llaurado & associates maitia maitasuna, s.l.u. manelba, s.l. mediterranean fitness, s.l. món net i verd, s.l. orona sociedad cooperativa oto, s.l. parvulari orfila,s.l. prado de libarache s.l. praol, s.a. puig rovira llor abogados slp sancor asesoría de comercio exterior s.l. siars ibérica, s.l. sistemas de encuadernación s.l. sociquick,s.l. teyco comercial,s.l. tikum ioga salut tinkle comunications, s.l. tiselab s.l. tysa europa, s.l. ulma sociedad cooperativa uson assesors, s.l. victor go vistaprint wrigley
Administration/management collaborators: Ajuntament de Barcelona Diputació Barcelona Àrea de Benestar Social Diputació Barcelona. Àrea de Presidència Generalitat de Catalunya Departament d'Acció Social i Ciutadania Generalitat de Catalunya Departament de Governació i Administracions Públiques Generalitat de Catalunya Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge Gneralitat de Catalunya Departament de Treball Generalitat de Catalunya Departament de la Vicepresidència Ministerio de Igualdad Ministerio de Sanidad, Política socia e Igualdad
About us
Team
Director_ 
